Push to make sobriety checkpoints mandatory in Texas

Texas - There's yet another effort to help reduce drinking and driving in Texas.

Legislators are being asked to make sobriety checkpoints mandatory across the state.

Although the number of fatalities caused by intoxicated motorists has gone down in Texas, drivers under the influence still remain a major road threat to the public.

This was one major point made to a legislative panel on Monday.

A sobriety checkpoint allows law enforcement to stop vehicles randomly on a public roadway and then investigate the possibility that the driver might be too impaired to drive.

They are often set up late at night or in the very early morning hours.

Another suggestion in the effort has been to add more "no refusal" weekends, which requires DWI suspects to undergo blood tests if they refuse a breath test.

In the last legislative session, Mothers Against Drunk Driving called on the legislature to require all first-time offenders to use an interlock device, which would prevent the driver from operating their vehicle if alcohol is detected on their breath.

There are some concerns with passing sobriety checkpoints into law?

Opponents believe it would be an invasion of privacy, allow for police manipulation and abuse of power.

Life can be greatly disrupted when a family member is hospitalized, especially when that member is a child. That's where a local organization steps in to assist as we learn in this edition of Good News with Doppler Dave.

Life can be greatly disrupted when a family member is hospitalized, especially when that member is a child. That's where a local organization steps in to assist as we learn in this edition of Good News with Doppler Dave.